So, after Eidos Montreal has finished DX:HR, and it has become a huge success, they are going to have an awesome team experienced with making immersive and exciting FPS/RPG's and a great engine to boot. What should they do? Hone their craft more.

Well that's great and all, but they don't have the rights to any of those licences. And they'll still be busy for some time after DX:HR gets released, what with Thifourf and that third, unannounced project they're working on...

Donvermicelli

6th Sep 2010, 06:14

Though I would love to see those games Kodaemon is right stating that they do not have the rights so they cannot make those games.

Kodaemon

6th Sep 2010, 07:01

As far as existing Eidos licences in dire need of rejuvenation go, there's Legacy of Kain. Not "immersive sim" style games by any means, but still a heck of a fine franchise, and it really needs at least one more game to wrap up the overall plot.

But honestly, I'm more interested in seeing a *new* IP created by EM. Something that would let them do what they want, without the need to dance around fan expectations. I think it was mentioned their third game would be a new IP, so I'm looking forward to that.

mad825

6th Sep 2010, 07:20

I hear another Just Cause game coming soon.

Kodaemon

6th Sep 2010, 07:33

Even if, that would surely be made by Avalanche Studios, who made the first two games. The LoK series on the other hand stands vacant since Eidos moved Crystal Dynamics from working on LoK to Tomb Raider :/

Donvermicelli

6th Sep 2010, 07:39

I guess the main problem these days is that teams that didn't work on the original games are being set on making sequels to a franchise they never participated in. This set's a high standard and restricts their creativity. But I guess that is a price you pay for working with an already established franchise.

Lady_Of_The_Vine

6th Sep 2010, 07:47

... and restricts their creativity...
Only if you let it.

pringlepower

6th Sep 2010, 07:49

I guess the main problem these days is that teams that didn't work on the original games are being set on making sequels to a franchise they never participated in. This set's a high standard and restricts their creativity. But I guess that is a price you pay for working with an already established franchise.

They're being plenty creative with DXHR, and wonderfully ignoring our screams for them to just stop being creative for a while and stick to "canon".

Red

6th Sep 2010, 07:51

Ohhhhhh what would I give for another Legacy of Kain title!

Lady_Of_The_Vine

6th Sep 2010, 07:51

They're being plenty creative with DXHR, and wonderfully ignoring our screams for them to just stop being creative for a while and stick to "canon".

^
Exactly. :thumb:

mad825

6th Sep 2010, 07:52

Even if, that would surely be made by Avalanche Studios, who made the first two games. The LoK series on the other hand stands vacant since Eidos moved Crystal Dynamics from working on LoK to Tomb Raider :/

if Wikipedia is correct ^.^

Eidos interactive did JC2 in conjunction of AS.

jtr7

6th Sep 2010, 09:01

Uh, sticking to canon is not creatively oppressive. It's a challenge that some see as an insurmountable wall, when they're looking in the wrong direction. The boring unimaginative way is a wall, the correct way is still infinite. Some know it's not tunnel vision with a dead-end.

pringlepower

6th Sep 2010, 09:08

Uh, sticking to canon is not creatively oppressive. It's a challenge that some see as an insurmountable wall, when they're looking in the wrong direction. The boring unimaginative way is a wall, the correct way is still infinite. Some know it's not tunnel vision with a dead-end.

Uh sticking to first person is not creatively oppresive. It's a challenge that some see as an insurmountable wall, when they're looking in the wrong direction. The boring unimaginative way is a wall, the correct way is still infinite. Some know it's not tunnel vision with a dead-end.

Different team, I know. But hey... if the Deus Ex 3 team finished early, maybe they can lend a hand and ensure that Thief 4 doesn't take five freaking years to be released!

jd10013

6th Sep 2010, 11:23

So, after Eidos Montreal has finished DX:HR, and it has become a huge success, they are going to have an awesome team experienced with making immersive and exciting FPS/RPG's and a great engine to boot. What should they do? Hone their craft more.

don't know about the first one, and SS would be impossible. nobody owns the entire license, and EA refuses to sell what they own, which I belive is the majority. Levine spent a lot of time and money on lawyers trying to get the rights to the SS seris and had to give up.
AS for VTM, who know. with the big "vampire" craze currently going on, now would probably be the best time to try and sell a vampire based game.

Donvermicelli

6th Sep 2010, 11:38

Only if you let it. Well it should to a certain extent, if you choose to ignore this then you are making a completely different game with the DX title slapped on it, and this is generally not well received.

xsamitt

6th Sep 2010, 13:55

I would like DX 4 to be worked on.Lets look at the time-line shall we?If they take even 2 years before making the next DX title and it takes 4 years to develop(Because we all know DX is a bastard of a game to create)that's 6 years.......In Dugas own words......It would basically be a reboot if it takes that long.makes sense anyone?

H.D.Case

6th Sep 2010, 14:06

I think this is why devs can't post here. So that they don't get any ideas. :D

luminar

6th Sep 2010, 19:25

So, after Eidos Montreal has finished DX:HR, and it has become a huge success, they are going to have an awesome team experienced with making immersive and exciting FPS/RPG's and a great engine to boot. What should they do? Hone their craft more.

Sadly this will never happen. (Sigh!) Definetly agree though. I would love a system shock 1 and 2 remake as well as a sequel two AP and VTM.

Lady_Of_The_Vine

6th Sep 2010, 19:30

...if you choose to ignore this then you are making a completely different game...

DX:HR is not a "completely" different game so let creativity continue, I say.

Jerion

6th Sep 2010, 20:23

Well it should to a certain extent, if you choose to ignore this then you are making a completely different game with the DX title slapped on it, and this is generally not well received.

Well, this is an interesting issue. Moving away from DX specifics for a minute (this may be a difficult concept for some of you) It's sort of become established that in a franchise sequels and prequels are supposed to be variant clones of the original. This doesn't have to be the case in story-driven franchises. There are expectations that the experience of one game, book or movie will be similar to another game, book or movie in the same series.

So...what exactly makes something an acknowledged, accepted part of a franchise?

Responses, Go.

puzl

6th Sep 2010, 21:50

I'm sure DX:HR will be great and if it is, we can only assume Thief 4 will follow suit. However, if they want to join the elite of the development studios, then they need to make their own original IP. I'm hoping they learn enough from these games and get both the critical and commercial success to enable them to make something really unique and different.

A talented studio + a solid budget + unrestricted access to make the games of their dreams = something special. Just look at DX.

Marses

6th Sep 2010, 21:59

Not to blaspheme, but porting/recreating the old game on the new engine would be a great way to erasing IW from the books and doing an actual, proper sequel.

TrickyVein

6th Sep 2010, 22:06

By "newer engine" do you mean Unreal engine 3.0? And a recreation of the original can hardly be called a sequel. So which do you mean? Invisi War is a fine game in and of itself anyways.

FrankCSIS

7th Sep 2010, 02:35

So...what exactly makes something an acknowledged, accepted part of a franchise?

I think the simplest, most general answer I can give of a franchise is the reproduction, in great part, of an experience. It applies to movies, and books, but it's also interesting to follow it in the restaurant business. You have direct franchises, but we're witnessing a lot of spin-offs and franchise-related establishments which offer a similar overall experience, in an entirely different setting.

Back to games, there are about twenty different ways to approach this. Same main character in a different setting, keep the same setting with different characters, move forward or backwards in the setting, follow supporting characters in a different setting, supporting characters in the same setting but in a different time. Familiar themes in a different setting, with new characters, can have a place in there. Whether it makes it a spiritual successor or an official entry into the franchise is, I suppose, debatable. Does style and gameplay mechanics have to be similar, or are themes and issues enough?

This is, after all, something we have to consider with the medium. Unlike a book, game franchises also have to deal with the expectations of their predecessor's gameplay style. To which extent does the technical aspect need to reflect the franchise? No game is, after all, strictly story-driven. This would reduce the medium to a spin-off of litterature. When trying to offer a similar experience, which is essentially what a franchise represents in the first place, how much of the mechanics can you alter?

All of this, however, begs to question your basic motivations for expending on a title/franchise. The answer to this will often dictate which of the approaches you will take, and whether or not you should really embark into this in the first place. From a fan's point of view, however highly subjective, this can also indicate whether or not it should be considered a franchise.

jtr7

24th Sep 2010, 08:24

We don't yet know what EM's third project and collaboration with Square-Enix is. They hired the producer for project number 3.

Now EM has been given a mandate to develop Multiplayer for yet another AAA Eidos franchise. Check the main site, and both Stephane D'Astous's Facebook and Twitter pages.

Tverdyj

25th Sep 2010, 20:50

As far as existing Eidos licences in dire need of rejuvenation go, there's Legacy of Kain. Not "immersive sim" style games by any means, but still a heck of a fine franchise, and it really needs at least one more game to wrap up the overall plot.

But honestly, I'm more interested in seeing a *new* IP created by EM. Something that would let them do what they want, without the need to dance around fan expectations. I think it was mentioned their third game would be a new IP, so I'm looking forward to that.

agreed. we need the last LOK game.

EDIT: and i'd like it to go more along the lines of the original Soul Reaver and Blood Omen 1+2, in terms of explorability and ability to interact with NPCs.